Archie Kennedy
' ' Name': Fourth Lieutenant Archibald "Archie" Kennedy' Player: Tori Journal: noprevaricating Canon: Hornblower (A&E Series) Point in canon: January 1802, after the episode Retribution, during which he succumbs to a wound he received in battle. Experiments: *Was turned into a brownie (the goblin, not the baked good) and spent the week cleaning Jack Sparrow's house. *Spent 10 days believing he had always lived in Luceti, during which he was a drama teacher and a widower with Kirsikka as his daughter, Bepo as his grandson, Thursday Next as his mother, and McCoy, Jilly, and Buffy as his siblings. Mallynappings: The last full week of July. Caged for the majority, returned with no memory of the kidnapping and a collar with a bell around his neck. The collar wouldn't come off till someone spoke to it like a lover. Embarrassingly, Jack Sparrow was the only one who thought of this... Basics Race: Human Home: '''Scotland '''Age: 26 Occupation: '''Naval officer '''Wing Color: Navy blue Staying At: '''House 36 '''Arrived: '''January 05, 2011 '''Appearance: '''5'9", blond and blue-eyed with a square jaw and turned-up nose. Slender but strong. '''PB: Jamie Bamber Songs: 'Running Up That Hill - Placebo, Moving On - Sixpence None the Richer, The Skye Boat Song - Traditional, Little Blue River - Over the Rhine, Moth - Over the Rhine, Caledonia - Eileen Laverty Background ''Allow me to introduce the midshipman of His Majesty's ship of the line ''Justinian, known elsewise to her intimates as the good ship Slough of Despond. Nothing in canon states his origins outright, but there are a few clues. His speech and manner and the fact that he mentions his father's manservant suggest he comes from a well-to-do English family. The actor who portrayed him said, in an interview, “What I'm thinking, really, is he is probably fairly well off in terms of his background. My take on it was, he was the second or third son of some nobleman. Archie Kennedy is a Scottish name, so I thought he was Scottish gentry. His family probably wasn't terribly wealthy but was titled, and he went off to the navy to make his career. And he wasn't probably naturally suited to it.” He joined the English navy as a midshipman aboard the ship-of-the-line ''Justinian and served for an undetermined amount of time before the King Louis' execution in 1793 brought England to war (based on typical military protocol for the time, he was most likely a volunteer aboard a ship since the age of eleven for about three years before becoming a midshipman). During his time on the Justinian, he got on very well with most of the crew, being a likable young man, but endured abuse at the hands of a senior midshipman who took to bullying his way to the top. The abuse, implied to be both physical and sexual, was traumatic enough to give Archie seizures in the presence (or threatened presence) of his abuser, but they presumably have not bothered him in years. After King Louis was executed by his own people, he was transferred to the frigate Indefatigable to fight in the First Coalition. During a mission requiring secrecy, he had an ill-timed seizure and had to be knocked out and left in the jolly boat, where he was set adrift during the attack. Shortly after, he was captured by the French. They sent him to a Spanish prison, where he remained for two years. Multiple escape attempts earned him extended time in an oubliette. Fortune finally threw him a bone when his fellow midshipman, Horatio Hornblower, was captured with his men and sent to the same prison. Horatio took the half-mad and suicidal Kennedy into his stubborn care, nursing him back to health and earning himself the most devoted friend imaginable. They were later released for heroic behavior. The two served together aboard the Indefatigable for several years until being transferred to the Renown as junior lieutenants under the command of Captain Sawyer. Sawyer, once a war hero, was quickly discovered to have grown senile and viciously paranoid in his old age. An unfortunate incident, for which both Horatio and Archie were present, caused Sawyer to fall into the hold, which nearly killed him. Upon their arrival at Kingston, Horatio was accused of pushing Sawyer and court-martialed for mutiny, but Archie, who had been mortally wounded days before, confessed falsely to save his friend's life and career. He succumbed to his wounds hours later. Personality You're the bravest man I know. A little prone to panic. Archie, you're the one who jumped off a cliff with a man who can't swim and another who's afraid of heights. Archie is high-spirited, with hot-running emotions and a sort of cheeky, boyish charm. A line in an early installment of the series reveals that he stays in touch with his family. As he grew, his cheekiness became full-out snarkiness and he made it his duty to keep his friends from getting too serious. The fact that his high spirits survived the misfortunes of his past says much for his ability to bounce back from bad times. All the same, he has a certain vulnerability and while he's not so easily hurt nowadays, he's still prone to getting emotionally invested. He is the soul of compassion, and thinks with his heart much more than his head, leading to a certain recklessness. His sense of rebellion, born out of too many years of submission, gives him just a streak of Chaotic Good tendencies. Many of his actions and reactions are born out of fear, no matter how he hides it or acts bravely regardless. Progress It's not history that concerns me, Horatio, it's the future. It's far more uncertain. Archie arrived high up in a tree in the dead of winter on a windy day. Despite nearly freezing to death in the first hours of his stay, he decided to look at Luceti as his second chance. This view has been the driving force for nearly everything he has done since. In February he began his courtship with Dawn Summers. At the end of the month he was drafted and fought against the Third Party, but was wounded on the third day. In early May, his best friend, Horatio Hornblower, arrived in Luceti. More will be added as Tori remembers. Relationships '''Canon: Horatio Hornblower - ''Archie's heterosexual life partner, Horatio is the only friend from back home that he has here. This is the man who didn't just save Archie's life, but his will to live. In return, Archie gave up his good name to ensure Horatio's future. These are two men who will go to the depths of Hell for each other, even if they have no indication that they will come back. They have one of those friendships that has moved beyond the point of "they tell each other everything" and settled into that quiet assurance that they don't need to say anything. '''Luceti:' Friends Buffy Summers - ''They've sort of taken each other under each others' wings, both having experienced death. One of the deeper instant friendships Archie has made since coming to Luceti. Also one of the few women he was no qualms about trolling. Because he's dating her sister, he has occasional inadequacy fears around her, and he's aware he's not part of her inner circle yet. Still, he tries to be a good friend to her in spite of the many death threats she gives him in the event he ever hurts Dawn. ''Dawn Summers - ''A fellow literature and drama enthusiast. There may have been a marriage proposal. He may have been drunk at the time. He may be developing feelings for her anyway. Officially dating. Archie loves romancing Dawn almost more than anything else in Luceti, and she's one of his best friends here, drawing out in him a level of comfort he doesn't have with just everyone. ''Jack Sparrow - ''This gets complicated. Archie likes him a lot in an "in spite of himself" way, and he makes a great drinking buddy from time to time. However, Jack seems to be able to see into Archie in a way that frightens and angers him a little. But like it or not, they were the closest thing they had to someone from home for a long time, even separated as they are by almost a century, so Archie will drag him to the bar whenever he's feeling homesick so there's someone who knows the same songs he knows. More dangerously, Kennedy is intrigued by the dangerous aspects of Jack, and quietly enjoys being around someone who doesn't mind when his secret Chaotic Good tendencies pop out. ''Jilly Coppercorn - ''Possibly his best friend in Luceti, and certainly the one he trusts the most, besides Horatio. They made friends very quickly when they first came to Luceti, and her artistic leanings are a source of fascination for him. There's a lot of mutual trust, and she's one of the few people who knows how he died. She puts him at ease in a way almost no one does, and he knows for certain that she will never, ever judge him. That's not something he has with anyone else he met in Luceti. In an AU event, they were twins, which sort of defined what was already there to begin with. They get each other. ''Leonard McCoy - ''One of the nicer, more sensible doctors Archie has known in his life. Believe it or not. He reminds him of Horatio, if Horatio were grumpy and irascible for no reason all the time, so he treats him a little like an older brother. Which basically consists of mild trolling and a lot of cheering up. Being brothers in an AU event cemented their surrogate siblinghood. ''Sayo - ''A weird woman, but he likes her. He was very touched by their first meeting, and has become sort of protective over her since the draft, almost as if she is a beginner midshipman.. 'Acquaintances' (In Progress) ''Mikado - '' ''Elicia Hughes - '' ''Maes Hughes - '' ''Katie McCoy - '' ''Thursday Next - '' ''Alexis Rodgers - '' ''Cecil Harvey - '' ''Rupert Giles - '' ''Winry Rockbell - '' ''Masaomi Kida - '' ''Raine Sage - '' ''Derek Bliss - '' ''Kay Eaton - '' 'To Be Avoided''' ''Jack Horner - '' ''James Norrington - '' Trivia *Despite his accent, Archie Kennedy is a Scottish name and it is a popular opinion, shared by his actor, that he is the son of a Scottish lord. *Archie is enthusiastic about theatre and probably literature as well. He is seen a couple of times reading a book in canon (not a common thing to see navy men doing in ''Hornblower ''unless they're studying for their lieutenant's examination) and once states, "I knew Drury Lane like it was my home." *He speaks Spanish. This should not be a surprise, considering he spent about two years as a prisoner in Spain. *Never at any point in canon is the name "Archibald" used or given, not even when he is introduced. If he is not called "Kennedy," he is only called "Archie." Tropes Badass Adorable, Deadpan Snarker, The Woobie, Blue Eyes - type 1, Break the Cutie, Kill the Cutie, Composite Character, Estrogen Brigade Bait, The McCoy, Heterosexual Life Partners (with Horatio), Silent Scapegoat, Go Out With A Smile, Neutral Good